Still Life with Skull...process

I finished this still life study recently, which began as a demonstration for my oil class students. As I've said before, I don't always finish these, but it feels good to have done so. I didn't do an underlying pencil sketch to start this off, instead I oultined the basic shapes/forms with Raw Umber thinned down with mineral spirit. However, every painting I do, whether personal or for a demo, starts out as a thumbnail drawing in my sketchbook. I've included those sketches as well to give an insight into the advent of the process. This is oil on paper.

Gnarled process...

This is another personal piece, loosely based on a prose poem. I enjoyed this, as it's so refreshing to do work unrelated to a commission sometimes. Another piece that was clear in my mind right from the start.

Red Tara process...

I thought it about time to update the blog, keep it alive, even though it seems I'm using social media more and more to publish my work. I'll get this thing going again with a look at my process concerning a triptych commission based on Red Tara, a deity from Buddhist mythology. I spent over a week playing about in my sketchbooks, toying with ideas, concepts, compositions, etc. The usual process I follow, but especially for a fairly ambitious and complex commission like this. The biggest challenge was how I was going to reconcile the third panel with the others, as the idea of combining a futuristic cyber-punk type scene with more mythological and traditional elements was a daunting task. They needed to stand alone yet at the same time have a sense of flow, of shared themes and an aesthetic harmony. I had a fairly strong idea early on how I wanted to handle the first two panels, but I had to re-work the final one a few times. I got there in the end I think, although it only fully satisfied that sense of lingering doubt after I decided to imbue each panel with a certain time of the day; the first panel representing early morning, the middle panel the zenith of the day, and the third panel night. That gave it a stronger narrative structure that I felt I could more cheerfully work with. With regards the palette, the first panel is a combination of Quinacridone Red and Phthalo Green, which I'd never used before. I used the same combination for the kimono of Red Tara (the same friend by the way who posed for The Malignant Flower painting), which needed that intensity and high value. The third panel is largely a complementary pairing of orange and blue, for the most part anyway. I stretched the canvas for all of them myself, which has a satisfyingly organic feel to the whole process, plus it means I can dictate the size of them myself. A challenging commission all in all, but the journey starts again with the next project.

The Malignant Flower process...

I was going for a certain atmospheric quality with this painting, and I think I've gone some way to achieving that. The background was patiently built up with multiple glazes, Burnt Sienna followed by Ultramarine Blue, layer upon layer, and so on until I got the desired affect. I think darks achieved in this way tend to be more dense and velvety, but you really need to be willing to wait. Each glaze (and there are definitely a dozen at least) took about two days to dry, sometimes three depending on how much medium was used. It's not a technique for everyone, but I like the result if you can spare the time needed. I also glazed in the rose, which I felt was needed to give it that luminous glow that only glazes can fully achieve. The first step was to glaze in a layer of Titanium White, then I built up alternating layers of Quinacridone Red and Phthalo Green until I acquired the depth of colour I was after. Again, it takes patience, but I think it's worth it. The figure was painted more loosely, along with the desk and the vase of flowers. I tried to get a particular kind of texture on the desk, in which I painted in an initial layer, then when I added a second layer, I scraped and scratched it with a palette knife to reveal the original layer to give it a worn look. I'm not going to go into detail about the theme of the painting here, I'll let the viewer interpret it for themselves...

A Semblance of Self...process

This was good practice. I propped a mirror up on my radiator, to the right hand side of my window with natural light pouring in, and off I went. I didn't do a drawing before hand, just dove straight in there with paint, and I admit I prefer this approach. It's funny how it takes awhile (for me anyway) to get it looking even remotely close to how you want it to look. The early stages look awkward, strange, and incorrect, but gradually you refine it, paint over bits, drink tea, stare at it, and one day it looks like genuine progress has taken place. A few friends have commented how serious I look. My response is always the same- how would you look if you were staring at your reflection for hours on end? In that respect I think I look cheerful. I had to make a slight adjustment about halfway through the painting as I got my hair cut, so it revealed more of my forehead. The orange glow reflected on the right hand side of the face was really an accident. I was relying on natural light, so one of the evenings when I began to lose that light I turned on the lamp behind me. I thought it looked good so I incorporated it into the final painting. I think it works better because of it...

The Old Man in the House of Bone...process

The Old Man in the House of Bone, written by David Calcutt and published by V-Press, has finally arrived. As always, after some scheming, deliberation, collaboration, and hard work, I have the satisfaction of actually holding a copy in my hands. It was an immensely enjoyable project to be involved in, and of course a challenging one. I value the artistic process. I find the progression of an artists vision fascinating, to see it take shape, and eventually form into a finished piece, is never tiring. Often the process can be just as compelling as the final image(s). Here is the journey of my creative process for the book...